A pitiful plea for help.

[Danny Dubya]

Hey all, I'm a 24 year old part-time college student, part-time software developer, living with my parents in western NY (they currently take on my expenses for food and shelter, I'm stuck with my tuition, car and a few other bills... a halfway-dependent, I guess). I have read some details elsewhere about the benefits of a raw-food diet, but frustratingly enough, have no clue of how to actually transition to one. I have never, outside of a few rare instances, ever prepared food for myself or even bought groceries, and have always lived on the SAD and ate whatever was put in front of me without thinking about it. There is nothing technically stopping me from transitioning from mostly dead foods to all-living foods, aside from my own astounding ignorance on, well, any type of food.

I am desperately seeking guidance and advice on this matter, and know better than to think I'll ever find any type of assistance from anyone in my family who are not at all health-conscious... which leaves me with nobody else to talk to about this, sadly enough. I hate being sick all the time and being overweight, and hate the idea of just giving up and forgetting about this just because I know nothing about food, as more likely as it seems with each passing day. I'm not interested in "converting" anybody, preaching or whatever when/if I ever attempt such a transition -- I just want what is my birth right, the happiness that comes with good health. Nothing more.

Someone please at least point me in the right direction?

[rawrawks]

You are IN the right direction. Read,, read and read more here. We are a support here and lots of info. You CAN do this. Good for you for choosing to stand for your own health!!!! Welcome!

[RawSar]

Alissa book :)

[spicyfull]

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW..........Welcome to MY World. If you shop for Clothes.......Food is easy.

[Veganforlife]

Welcome! What a gr8 time to start while you are young. Not only Alissa's book but her DVDs too that actually show the foods being prepared.
Eat waht you like and can afford for now. If all you care to eat in a day is bananas and a salad and more fresh fruit at night - that's cool.
Yes. Read all you can here.
You've taken the first step toward your Raw, healing journey.

[Revvell]

*pointing* Go to a grocery store. Head around outside. Eventually you'll come to the produce section. Walk around. Marvel at the wondrous colors of nature. Pick up what looks good to you. Smell it.

The only problem with groceries to me is, the wax they put on most everything so, everything smells the same. See if there's an organic section.

I'm thinking, at this time in NY, there aren't any farmers' markets so, produce section will have to do. Maybe find a Henry's, Whole Foods or something of that nature.

Head over to your local library and see if there are any raw uncook books there.

Begin or find a raw food meetup so you wont feel alone. (meetup.com/raw food/NY) You may possibly find other folk who would like to share costs of buying in bulk.

Check for coops where food is less expensive.

Revvell

[sport]

Hi. I googled to get a link to a raw food meetup group in Rochester but see that you have already taken that step. Good for you.
I would advise that you start by having a green smoothie every day. Just put fruit and water in the blender and add green leaves. Start with bananas water and spinach.

[sport]

Another piece of advise.
Always carry a Lara Bar in your pocket in case that you are hungry and there is only SAD food about. They take up little room in your pocket but a lot of room in your tummy and do not cost much.

[Danny Dubya]

Thanks for the responses, all, much appreciated.


Alissa book :)
Heh... you think I'd stop spazing out to look around and see where I am or something, huh. *facepalm* Got it, I think I'll check that book out and ask here about anything that confuses me.

For the record, a little more about me : my, uh, "journey" in life improvement so to speak, started when I found a site full of information on near-death experiences. Changing my ideas of what life meant to me was and wanting to confirm some of the theories for myself, I decided to try out some Gnostic spiritual practices (astral projection mostly) and got very frustrated with two things :

1. My golfer's elbow making it uncomfortable to sleep on my back most of the time as recommended for the astral practice. I have no idea why this is taking so long to heal on its own...
2. CONSTANT common cold symptoms. How am I supposed to concentrate or silence my mind with snot running down my throat!?

The desire to rid myself of colds permanently led me to a herbalist's site. He also claimed to be a Gnostic in one of his articles, so I was willing to read with an open mind if I did nothing else. He had some detox product that he claims if you do it for three weeks, not only clears out the body of illness but also weakens your disposition towards negativity, but one of the requirements of using it is... you guessed it, a raw vegan diet.

And a few frantic 'net searches later, here we are.

Sheesh, I hope I can get this sorted out soon enough...


If you shop for Clothes.......Food is easy.
I'm not so sure that's a good comparison. Clothes last far, faaaar longer and you never need to know what to do with them afterward to make them usable or worry about how they'll effect your health... they're just de-nakedisers to me. :P


*pointing* Go to a grocery store. Head around outside. Eventually you'll come to the produce section. Walk around. Marvel at the wondrous colors of nature. Pick up what looks good to you. Smell it.
Yeah... the last time I tried to figure out what I'd need to do to switch to a vegan diet months ago (my only concern at the time was to avoid relying too much on imitation meats and junk food, not rawness necessarily), that got me pretty much nowhere besides nearly getting run over by other people's shopping carts, standing around all indecisively. To avoid a repeat of that experience again, I think I'm just gonna do as much research as I possibly can before starting this with full confidence that I can keep it going perpetually.


The only problem with groceries to me is, the wax they put on most everything so, everything smells the same.
... wax?


I would advise that you start by having a green smoothie every day. Just put fruit and water in the blender and add green leaves. Start with bananas water and spinach.
Spinach... with bananas? That sounds bizarre enough a combination to be compelled to try it at least once.

[Veganforlife]

have you tried using a neti pot? INSTANT relief and heals your sinus membranes. I highly recommend using it daily!

[Revvell]

*pointing* Go to a grocery store. Head around outside. Eventually you'll come to the produce section. Walk around. Marvel at the wondrous colors of nature. Pick up what looks good to you. Smell it.

What I MEANT to say, yet couldn't edit after I read what I wrote was, head around the sides of the market to the produce section ~ not head around outside. You asked to be pointed in the right direction. That's it!




... wax?

Yes, wax.

[katchmoleen]

In addition to Alissa's book and video, you might be interested in the following, especially if you are a visual person and do better with dvds rather than books (as a lot of guys are). Go here (http://www.rawfor30days.com/store.html) and check out the Raw for Life DVDs. I have them and they are a great introduction to the raw food lifestyle and show food preparation and have some recipes in addition to a ton of info about beginning the raw food lifestyle.

[somelikeitraw]

It looks like you are pointed in the right direction to me. As well as all of the other helpful advice above, it helped me to watch raw food prep vids on youtube.

One reason wax is put on fruits and veggies is to make them look more appealing (although I think they missed the mark there). You can remove it with a good washing with either a product designed for that purpose, or I just use my nice, health friendly dish cleaner. It's not the kind you find in the average grocery store though. Locate a health food store (HFS) and scope out your options.

I find spinach delish with nectarines or peaches and fresh squeezed oj.

If you celebrate holidays in December, you could put Alissa's book and DVDs on your wish list. I only have the book and it is not inexpensive AND it IS worth every penny!

Some folks find that in the beginning of their raw lifestyle they eat way more than they used to. There could be several factors to this, but the one that resonates with me is that one's body is deficient in vitamins and minerals from eating SAD for so long and it wants more good food to get the goodies it contains.

Using the search feature on this site, you can find all sorts of wonderful recipes and tidbits about the raw lifestyle. There are also some money saving tips all over this site, so use the search and more power to you!

[hiphoptiff]

Someone please at least point me in the right direction?

I am addicted, absolutely addicted, to someone who posted on THIS thread!!! The only factor that took me from watching and enjoying raw food podcasts to an actual raw foodist was----- REVVELL!! If you go to itunes and put in "rawkin radio" and check the podcasts out, see if you like them. I found them addictive, and it has taken me about a month to listen to them all. By the time I was done I was totally transformed AND had all the information I needed to actually do it. And the clear reasons as to why. Which was information I didn't have before and therefore just had no clue. I'd start at the top, or start with Alissa & Revvel episode #1. I think I started with Elaina Love and Phil McClusky and was HOOKED. (THANK YOU REVVELL!!!)

[Frugal Raw]

Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!!!

[Danny Dubya]

Back. I haven't started going raw yet, but I'm close to doing so (decided not to put this off to New Years' just because of holidays, as previously intended). I have a few questions :

Just how much better is organic produce than non-organic? On a scale from slightly better to mind-blowing. I ended up discussing this subject with my folks after all, as I wanted a food processor and dehydrator for Christmas, and they have been generally supportive of the idea, but had two objections about organic food specifically :

1) They claimed to have seen some report on 20/20 that finds little benefit from organic foods. I just looked this up, and it was chicken used in the research, not produce, as 20/20 falsely reported.
2) They do not believe I will be able to afford it. And that could very well be true.

Has anyone personally experienced a huge difference between organic and non-organic? Would I be able to live off non-organic food? I'd always assumed I could, even if it wasn't totally ideal...

[lovenlife]

Organic is so important.
Pesticides on food build up in the body and cause all kinds of toxicity
Sooo many reasons to eat organic!

Is it better to eat regular produce non organic than conventional processed foods ? Absolutlety....do the best you can!

[rawlight]

A good piece of advice might be not to set up so many rules when you first start. Organic produce is generally more expensive that non. You might set totally organic as a goal, but don't beat yourself up or allow yourself to feel badly that you aren't 'pure' with each item. That's a set up to fail, because you can just use that as an excuse.....

There are many people here who don't do all organic for reasons like expense or organic not being readily available. See up at the top of your screen there is a banana? That's the search button, use that to find similar threads. There are lists of foods that really should be organic because they retain much of the pesticides and some that you can get a way with as non-organic because the pesticides don't invade as much.

[Danny Dubya]

Is it better to eat regular produce non organic than conventional processed foods ? Absolutlety
And obviously. I wasn't even questioning that.


A good piece of advice might be not to set up so many rules when you first start.
I'm not "setting up any rules" for myself, I just want to be aware of what I am doing as much as reasonably possible. And I don't know why I'd be looking for excuses to diminish my own well-being and happiness...


That's the search button, use that to find similar threads.
I searched for threads containing the word "organic", prior to bumping this thread, that didn't turn up anything that stood out as useful. Since you mentioned a list of foods, I tried "organic list" and found this thread : http://rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=53550&highlight=organic+list

That the one?

[Thick]

That's the list of the most heavily poisoned foods, or the "dirty dozen".

Another reason why organic is important is because the nutrient level in organic foods is much higher. I'll look for a link comparing them. I can't always buy/find organic foods--but I like knowing that there is more nutrition in the organic food I buy.

As far as not knowing how to cook.. you're in luck because uncooking is so much easier than cooking! The hardest part is the learning curve of finding foods and recipes that you like.

Are you within driving distance of any raw food restaurants? You could sample things there then easily duplicate them (we'll help you). A raw food meetup potluck is another place to sample a lot of raw food without having to spend a lot of time and money trying the recipes.

Look at photo threads like these--
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=48555&highlight=photos+thread
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=35341&highlight=photos
http://rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30199
http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3862&highlight=photo+thread

and www.goneraw.com for ideas--a picture tells a thousand words, and sometimes the story is scary!=)>

Welcome a'board=) I'll be happy to answer any specific or vague prep questions you might have, if I can=)

[Thick]

here's a comparison chart between organic and non. http://www.organicnutrition.co.uk/whyorganic/whyorganic.htm

[lunabear]

The average grocery store is an okay place to start. But you're better off at a store that offers you more organic options, such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe's ... Just to let you know, health food stores can sell a lot of pills and things you don't necessarily need. And don't be intimidated by the hippies, we're normal people just like you. :)